FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention pertains to a drinking container having a serving counter, and in particular to a drinking container which indicates an amount of fluid which has been consumed throughout a 24 hour period.
The recommended minimum daily amount of fluid and/or water intake is eight ounces eight times per day, amounting to a total of 64 ounces of fluid per day. For people who are significantly large or small, such as obese people or small children, the recommended minimum varies depending upon the person's size and/or weight. In any event, a person often forgets the servings of water and/or fluid which he/she has consumed or fails to accurately determine the amount of water per serving, thereby leading to fluid consumption which fails to meet the recommended daily amount. As a result, the present invention addresses the problems associated with meeting the recommended minimum daily water/fluid amount by allowing for substantially easy recording of fluid consumed.
According to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a drinking container having a basin for receiving fluid and a means for indicating a number corresponding to an amount of fluid which has been consumed during a day or other 24 hour period. The indicating means preferably comprises a ring member having a series of numbers printed thereon, and a pointer member for pointing to one number from the number series, the number pointed to representing the number of 8 ounce servings of water/fluid which had been previously consumed in the 24 hour time period. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pointer member is substantially fixed along an outer surface of the basin and the ring member is slidably engaged with the basin substantially proximal to the pointer member so that the number from the number series substantially adjacent the pointer member is the indicated number, i.e., the number of 8 ounce servings which has been consumed.
In use, fluid is deposited in the basin of the present invention until it reaches the 8 ounce mark and/or the height of the ring member. After the fluid in basin is consumed, the ring member is rotated relative to the basin and to the pointer member so that the pointer member points to the correct number of 8 ounce servings consumed. When additional servings of fluid are consumed, the ring member is rotated accordingly in order to update and accurately reflect the amount of servings consumed.
It is an object of the present invention provide a device to quickly, easily and accurately record the number of servings of fluid consumed in a period of time.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a device which quickly, easily and accurately indicates an amount of fluid comprising a serving.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a device which is associated with a container for drinking fluid.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a device which is simple in design and inexpensive to manufacture.
Other objects, advantages, and salient features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which when taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses the preferred embodiments of the present invention.